Cops Expose Dad's 40-Year Secret in Front of His Family

The paperwork we have to notify you of here, this is a warrant for your arrest.So I'm going to hold on to this.

California detectives arrive in Hawaii to track down this man, an elderly father and Air Force veteran.What he doesn't know is he's being arrested for a sinister secret that he has concealed for decades.

Go ahead and turn that way and just keep your hands behind your back, will you?Oh, no.

What happened to what I do?I don't know what I did.

This kind of hold is from California.

You guys got this right?

The following report is based on official police records released to date.The footage has never been seen before until now.On August 2nd, 2022, detectives close in on an elderly man suspected of murdering a teenage girl.However, the investigation left the victim's family with 40 years of unanswered questions, dating back to 1982 when her father contacted police.

This is Detective Stevenson, may I help you?My daughter is missing.Something happen to my daughter?

On September 3rd, 1982, detectives with the Sunnyvale Police Department received a report from a man named Robert, who last saw his 15 -year -old daughter, Karen Stitt, the night before.What began with a phone call reporting Karen as missing soon turned into a father's worst nightmare.During the call, the detective didn't immediately reveal the details behind the discovery.A female had been bound by her own clothing in bushes beside an intersection near a cinder block wall.Yes.

Blue jeans?

Yeah, it looks like blue jeans.Blue and white tongue?Yes.

The victim was later identified as Robert's daughter, Karen Stitt, a high school student.According to court records, she had been raped and stabbed 59 times.

You got to work?Yeah, finally.

Limbs that were apparently broken during the struggle.One of her shoes is up to the right, underneath the limb there.The leaves appear to be pushed back during the struggle.

A composite sketch of the killer was released to the public, but with no immediate leads, investigators leaned on Karen's father, Robert, to help them piece together Karen's whereabouts that evening.

Could you tell me when the last time you saw her was, sir?Well, last night.Who was she with, sir?

Somebody that you wish your daughter wouldn't go out with?Not particularly.

According to court records, Karen had taken a bus from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale to visit her boyfriend, David.They met between 8 and 9 p .m.at a convenience store, grabbed drinks, and walked along a miniature golf course.On the day Karen's body was found, detectives spoke with her boyfriend, David, as the hunt for her killer was underway.

What time did you all go to prison?Until 12.Where were you?

Sister's house.David said he left Karen while she walked back to the bus stop to go home.He told investigators that he felt bad leaving her alone, but he didn't want to get into trouble with his parents for being home late.At the time, David was 17 years old.According to court records, Karen's murder was committed as she was being.An unknown male DNA profile was developed from bloodstains found on the wall near Karen's body.

But in the 1980s, DNA technology was still in its infancy.forcing investigators to rely heavily on Karen's loved ones to help piece together the mystery.

One month after Karen's murder, detectives revisited her boyfriend, David, and asked point blank if he killed her.

David maintained his innocence and said he knew nothing about the crime.Nearly two decades flew by as Karen's case remained unsolved, and her father wasn't convinced that David was in the clear.

He always seemed a little strange.Is that what you're feeling this from?Like he wouldn't leave a girl there at the bus stop?

Evidence against Karen's boyfriend David included an eyewitness who placed him at the 7 -Eleven near the area where Karen's body was found.On December 12th, 2001, David is questioned again about his alleged involvement in Karen's 1982 murder and how his story changed over the years.David's polygraph also showed signs of deception.

Do you have any explanation how you have yours in her when you said that it wasn't, that you had no sex with her?

That I could have been wrong about.

I don't know.12 hours later?Don't you remember when you last had sex if it was the day before?But why is this saying show you're lying?It doesn't lie.You lie.

The machine doesn't lie, you lie.

I don't trust the machine.

I have other evidence that you were there.I have DNA.DNA is better than a machine.Yeah, OJ got off on DNA.This is not a get off type thing like OJ.DNA is you.

It's better than fingerprints.Now listen, I truly think you did it.Now, you have a nice wife, you're married, you have a nice home, a good job, two great kids, and you're very concerned about what's going to happen with all of that.

Despite suspicions surrounding David, there was not enough evidence to support an arrest.Throughout the years, DNA was collected from relatives of males who allegedly had relationships with Karen, but none matched the DNA at the crime scene.After major advancements in technology, detectives made a stunning breakthrough and Karen's boyfriend David was ultimately eliminated as the source of the unidentified male DNA profile.Still, Karen's murder was left cold for 40 years until a Sunnyvale detective received a tip pointing to four brothers with the last name Ramirez.DNA from the crime scene was compared to the DNA of a Ramirez relative and is traced back to a man named Gary Gene Ramirez, a 75 -year -old father and veteran living in Hawaii.

I have a wheelchair.Is that something that we can see and then we can chat with you?Being on the driveway is harder on your legs.Grab the paperwork from the car.

My name is Detective Hutchinson.We've been talking with Detective Davis.I'll let you hold on to that.

We, the paperwork we have to notify you of here, this is a warrant for your arrest.

So I'm going to have, I'm going to hold on to this.

We're going to, we're going to do this right away, right off the bat for you.I'm not going to let you fall down or anything like that.Go ahead and turn that way and just keep your hands behind your back for you.

Oh no, what am I going to do?

It's something that's really old that we would be happy to talk to you about and share more information.Hey guys.Right now we got to do what we got to do safely and then we'll answer questions and make sure your family knows where you're going to be and all that.

Okay?Oh no, what did I do?Can I get my crutch?Well, that's not going to be able to go with you.

We'll get him to the car and then we'll explain it.We have a warrant for his arrest.I don't know what I did.What he said is it's kind of old, it's from California.

Do you have any medications that need to come with you, Gary?If you can let me know what his ailments are so we can make sure he's taken care of.

Is there any way where he doesn't have to go?

No, he is under arrest right now for a warrant.

Gary is informed by the detective that he's being arrested for murder.Gary is taken to the police station where he's told that there's a warrant to collect his DNA.The following interrogation has been analyzed by a retired detective who is also a licensed polygraph examiner as well as a former hostage negotiation commander and instructor.

I can't answer that.I'm just here to recover some samples.

Gary's crossed arms and legs may suggest that he's either closed off or simply sitting in a comfortable position due to his age.The detective begins approaching him calmly, directly, and with confidence.

I was upfront and honest with you from the beginning.I didn't pull any punches or hold any secrets from you.That's not my style.My style is to tell you the truth.Some other guys might have lied to you and been like, ah, you know, we'll just see.We'll just see.

You're saying it's not you.I want as much explanation for how it's not you as possible so I can go find the guy that it is then.Keeping that in mind, I got to protect your rights and I got to protect mine as well, okay?So you have the right to remain silent.Do you understand that?Yes.

The detective decides not to question Gary until he arrives at the station, and after he's Mirandized.Gary is then asked about his ties to California, where he lived, attended college, and where Karen's murder took place in 1982, when Gary was 35 years old.

Do you have any other friends or family that lived around San Francisco area?They call it the Bay Area, I guess.We've heard of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale.Have you ever been to either one of those?No.Never even passed there?

Gary tells the detective that in the 1980s he would visit a family member in the city of Palo Alto.Palo Alto is where the victim Karen lived and is about 15 miles away from Sunnyvale, where she was murdered.As the questioning continues, Gary is about to be confronted with indisputable evidence tying him to the crime.

The test that was done today is to confirm a result that I already know.I wouldn't be here and put you all through this if I wasn't already sure of where we're at.It's curious to me that you're under arrest for murder and you don't have any questions about that.I don't know.I mean, I don't know.You know what murder is though, right?

Yeah.

Have you ever killed a person, Gary?No.Is there any reason why I would have evidence that says that that's not true?

I don't know.I don't know.

Could be misidentity, whatever.All that stuff always happens and stuff.

Okay.

Do you know how DNA works?Yeah.Like, yours is even different than your brother's.Right.All four of you would have different DNA.

Why are you guys taking me over there when I'm not even guilty?Why am I going over there when you don't have...I mean, it's information you have.

Well, I...Fair to say I probably know a lot more than I'm sharing, right?Okay.So I know that a murder happened in the city where I work and I have physical evidence that places you at that murder and nobody else.

Since Gary claims he has little ties to the area where Karen was murdered, the detective is about to reveal which department he works for in California.But instead of denying the accusations, Gary appears to show curiosity.

You don't even want to know what city I work in, Gary?Where do you work?I work in the city of Sunnyvale, Gary.Where?Sunnyvale.Okay.

Why would you have been in Sunnyvale?I don't have a clue why I would be in Sunnyvale.I have no reason for me to be in Sunnyvale.

Okay.

This is a throwback.That's what the area would have looked like in 1982.Looks like it's been captured some place.So the case I'm investigating happened here.I show it to you to see if it looks familiar to you or not.It doesn't.

Do you want to know if it was a guy or a girl that was killed?

These questions you're asking me, that you're accusing me of this thing, this awful thing.And I mean, just alone, that's terrifying.

The detective shows Gary a photo of Karen that was taken before she was murdered.But Gary claims her face isn't ringing any bells.

Is that a guy or a girl?I don't recognize.

That's a 15 -year -old girl, Gary.

That's all?

Gary's reaction to Karen's photo reflects a weak denial.Rather than clearly expressing his innocence, a more natural response would have been a direct statement that he did not kill Karen.This prompts the detective to shift into discussing the circumstances of her murder.

Is there any reason you can think of that I would have blood evidence at the scene of that woman's death, that little girl's death.That blood belongs to you.

I don't know how that happened.Are you curious how she was killed?It was horrible.How was she killed?You stabbed her 60 times, Gary.Oh my God, no, I didn't do anything like that.

Note how Gary never asked questions about how Karen was killed until now, when the detective offered up the information.

There's no way that for the last 40 years of dealing with this in your heart, you haven't felt bad.This isn't going away.Now is the time to get closure for yourself, closure for her.

This is not right.I'm just going to lift anything that I didn't do.You want me to go check on those results, Gary?Sure.Sure.Okay.

Any questions for me before we step out?

No.I wouldn't want to stay anymore.You guys are accusing me of something I didn't do.I'd like to have a lawyer if it's okay with you guys.

After requesting a lawyer, the interrogation comes to an end.But Gary's decades -long secret had finally unraveled, and he was booked into the Maui County Jail.

Thank you, Gary.

You need me?Yes.

Love.Freedom.Freedom I can't give you.Love I can't give you, but I can show you respect.

The detective misses the opportunity to calmly confront Gary.by emphasizing that Karen also wanted love and freedom, yet those were taken from her 40 years ago, while Gary has remained free ever since.

This isn't happening, is it?It's happening.

According to court records, on February 24th, 2025, after pleading no contest, 78 -year -old Gary Ramirez was convicted of Karen's first -degree murder.He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.Gary will be eligible for parole in 2038 when he's 90 years old.By the time Karen's case was solved, members of her immediate family had died without ever seeing her murderer be brought to justice.To access more of our content, including extras such as raw footage, actual case files, and unseen details, you can join us on our Patreon.Join and see what you've been missing.